P. K. Abdul Azis is a scientist in Ecology and Biodiversity and an academic from India. He is currently the Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...

 since June 11, 2007. He was former Vice Chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology

Cochin University of Science and Technology

Cochin University of Science and Technology is a government owned autonomous university in Kochi , Kerala, India. Founded in 1971, the university consists of three campuses, two in Kochi and one in Kuttanad, Alappuzha, 66 km inland. The university awards degrees in engineering and allied...

 and a Professor at Kerala University

Kerala University

The University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is an affiliating university located in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. It was established in 1937, long before the birth of the state of Kerala in India...

 and Kerala Agricultural University

Kerala Agricultural University

Kerala Agricultural University is the primary and the principal instrumentality of the Kerala state in providing human resources, and skills and technology, required for the sustainable development of its agriculture, defined broadly encompassing all production activities based on land and water,...

. He also led the Department of Ecology and Marine Biology at the Saline Water Conversion Corporation Research and Development Centre, Saudi Arabia as Chairman during 1993-2002.

He holds a D.Sc in Ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

(2002) and a Ph.D(1978) from the Department of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, University of Kerala and has published 77 research papers.

He is an Ex-Officio Member of the Maulana Azad Education Foundation.

Indictment by Government Agencies

Prof Aziz has been indicted by several Govt agencies of malafide practices and financial regularities. In 2008, Finance inspection wing, Govt of Kerala found him guilty for large scale administrative and financial irregularities while he was VC of Coachin University of Science and Technology and noted on record that ‘The irregular actions of the V.C and Syndicate have resulted huge financial burden to the State Exchequer’ and ‘Strict disciplinary action should be initiated against the VC, Dr. P.K. Abdul Aziz for his lapses’.

Later in year 2009, Principal Account General (PAG) (Civil Audit) UP, Indicted him again, but this time as VC of prestigious AMU. PAG said in its report that ‘There is a complete collapse of financial management in the university (AMU) and the VC and the registrar instead of stopping this frequent financial irregularity themselves became a part of this’.

CBI Probe

Owing to his systematic indictments for institutionalized corruption and sensing a wide scale corruption racket brewing up under his Vice Chancellorship AMU Teacher’s Association went on the longest ‘hunger strike’ in university’s history demanding immediate removal of Prof Aziz as VC. All this cumulated into a CBI enquiry against him for corruption. With this Prof Aziz earned the dubious distinction of being only Central University VC in India’s history to be probed by CBI.

Controversy Surrounding Academic Records and Plagiarism

Other than Corruption and administrative malpractices Prof Aziz has also been accused of plagiarism of his DSC degree and hiding his ‘poor academic’ record from selection committee of both Coachin University of Science and Technology and AMU.

Defence

In his defense Prof Aziz has always maintained that he is innocent and has been framed continuously for his hard work and dedication.